Dell Inspiron 9100 shuts down when AC plug is moved

I have a Dell Inspiron 9100. Mine kept on shutting down randomly and eventually got worse. I got a laptop technician out and at first he thought it was overheating but it turned out to be the AC plug going into the back. Every time it moved around the laptop turns off. This implied that it was something to do with the motherboard. I only use this as a spare laptop now, but want to have a hand at fixing it myself. What would you suggest? Is there any kind of botch job I could try before buying a whole new motherboard?

It’s possible that the power jack (the socket where you plug the adapter) is loose or damaged. When you move the AC plug inside the power jack it shorts the motherboard and because of that the laptop shuts down.

It’s necessary to disassemble the laptop, remove the motherboard and take a closer look at the power jack. If it’s broken or loose you may fix the problem without replacing the whole motherboard.

1. Disassemble the laptop. You’ll find instructions in the official service manual.
2. Remove the motherboard and take a closer look at the power jack.
3. If the power jack is loose or broken, you’ll have to resolder or replace the jack.
4. Find a new power jack and replace it.

Before you take it apart, I would suggest testing the laptop with another working power adapter. Will it shut down with another adapter? If not, your problem could be related to the adapter. Apparently, there are damaged wires inside the power cable and you short them moving the cable. It’s possible the laptop shuts down because of that.

If you still have the same problem even with another adapter, you can inspect the power jack as suggested above.

14 Responses

Alex

Hi…I use to have the power issue on my Dell XPS m170. and i open it and apply welding to the power jack and the power issue get fix but.. now the problem is that it always freezes and make a noise and the fun runs very fast..then it shots down. i have to wait like 4 ten minutes to get it start.. then the same crash.. what can i do? i was thinking into replace the powe jack with a new one. please help.!

Lance

Hi Iv got a IBM x31 and after about 4 mins it would just turn off and when i turn it back on it would just show a black screen i would have to turn it off and On about 6 times before the screen comes back on then about 4 mins later the laptop would just turn off agen.

But when i put it on its docking station it would work perfetly fine. Its just when its not on the docking station it dont want to work proberly.

Please help

Thanks

Lance

Phil

I have a Dell 9400 which is just over a year old. Until recently it functioned perfectly. However for a few weeks now it is impossible to start it from the battery alone, with the power cable required on each occasion. Once started, I can disconnect the power cable after a couple of seconds and can then work on battery for the usual life of a charged battery, ie around 2 hours in this case. This is very annoying and is limiting mobility! I would be very grateful if someone could help. Many thanks. Phil S.

michelle

i recently purchased a laptop from a home catolouge company the manufactuer is hi grade it became faulty and wouldnt charge when it did start to charge it smelt of burning it is under warrenty but when sent back they blame me for mis use saying i have forced the adapter in which has pushed the pin in my argument is how can i do that when the hole is made to fit this laptop is only 3 1/2 months old i have not misused this item i and they want 141 pounds to fix oh but there very kind and wavering the 75 pound + vat as a goodwill gesture it they are saying its a ac dc fault and i think they said thats whats burning the mother board i really hope you can help

Laptop Freak

However for a few weeks now it is impossible to start it from the battery alone, with the power cable required on each occasion. Once started, I can disconnect the power cable after a couple of seconds and can then work on battery for the usual life of a charged battery, ie around 2 hours in this case.

Could be bad battery or there is a problem with the motherboard. The only way to find out is testing the laptop with another known good battery. If you still have the same problem with another battery, it’s bad motherboard.

General

I’VE RECENTLY PURCHASED A TOSHIBA SATELLITE A305 S6864 LAPTOP, IT IS GOOD BUT WITH A SINGLE PROBLEM TILL NOW, WHEN IT IS CONNECTED TO THE CHARGER( CHARGING) I FEEL A LITTLE ELECTRICITY IN THE BACK OF THE LCD DISPLAY AND IN THE SURFACE OF THE LAPTOP(THE FUSION FINISH)WHEN I MOVE MY HAND ON THE LAPTOP ONLY, AND THERE IS ALSO ELECTRICITY AT THE SCREWS AT THE BOTTOM( I CHECKED THE ELECTRICITY IN THE SCREWS AT THE BOTTOM WITH A TEST SCREW DRIVER) THE TEST SCREW DRIVER DIDN’T LIGHT WHEN I PUT IT ON THE SURFACE OF THE LAPTOP BUT I’M SURE THERE IS ELECTRICITY ON THE SURFACE (CASING OF THE LAPTOP) WHEN I MOVE MY HANDS ALONG IT, IS THAT LAPTOP DEFECTIVE OR WHAT (KNOWING THAT I FOUND ELECTRICITY IN THE BOTTOM SCREWS IN 2 LAPTOPS OF MY FRIENDS OF OTHER BRANDS)

THANKS FOR YOUR EFFORTS

Jonathan

So I have heard similar problems but mine I think has a twist. I have a dell Inspirion and for about 6 months it was telling me the battery was charging but it was nearing the end of it it’s life cycle and I needed to buy a new one. So naturally I ignored it and it worked fine I just needed to keep it plugged in, about a month ago out of no where it just shut off and would not turn back on even when plugged in. I tried different out lets I tried it with and without the battery. Could this be because the battery has crapped out or is it a separate problem?

Sabriel

I have a Gateway FX laptop. I have had it since august and most of the time it works just fine, but recently it has started freezing whenever I plug in the battery charger and I have to pull out the battery or let the battery die just to get the laptop to work again. I don’t know if it is something wrong with the battery or the charger or the actual computer.

Bryan

Jenny

i have a dell inspiron INSP1440 whenever i try to eject my usb drive it will restart my laptop. i had this laptop less than two months. when i first got the laptop the usb was working perfectly and then one day i tried to eject my usb drive my laptop just restarted by itself. and now whenever i eject the usb it just restarts my laptop. how can i fix this?

Seb

I have an HP Pavilion dv4015 which has been working fine for 4 years. Recently, my battery was getting low on power. I plugged the AC adapter in, and about 5 minutes later the keyboard and touchpad stopped responding. I had to shut down the machine.

Now, it seems that whenever I plug the AC in, the laptop freezes up within a few minutes. Then sometimes, if I wait a little longer, the screen eventually becomes all white.

When the computer is shut down, sometimes the charge light won’t come on even if I plug the AC.

Now here’s the funny thing: when the “battery charging” light does come on, I can unplug the AC and it will stay on! I guess this means there’s a problem outside the AC adapter.

Thanks for any help!

Bonnie

My Inspiron 1900 reports the battery is working, but the machine will n ot light up or turn on when plugged in to the adapter. Interestingly, the light on the adapter turns off when I plug it in to the back of the laptop. That is, I can plug the adapter in to the wall and see the blue light on the converter box. When I plug the other end into the laptop, though, the light turns off. And nothing happens to the laptop, it’s still dead. What’s that all about?

umer

After reading this, it seems to me that I have a similar problem, as I think my laptops power jack is either loose or damaged. Because I have recently got a new battery and an adapter, so both of them are fine, the problems I have is:

Sometimes the laptop switches from AC to battery power, although it is on AC power, and secondly, I constantly hear a very high pitched sound from the power jack, while I’m on AC power using the laptop or even charging in stand-by mode. But on battery power there is no sound at all. And thirdly, the end of the adapter ‘which is plugged in the power jack’ gets VERY HOT and also the area of laptop around it. And lastly, on AC power I sometimes have to fiddle the wire to make the adapter charge my laptop.

SO what I want to know is, is it dangerous if I do not get the ‘power jack’ fixed? I have recently seen some pictures of laptops burning, so you can imagine my fears.

In short, Can this loose or damaged power jack, burn my motherboard or completely destroy my laptop?

Plz answer my questions.
Thanks in advance.

Andi

I have a Toshiba Satellite A200 with Vista Home Premium installed on it. I bought it about two years ago. Since last month, The laptop always restart automatically even before its loading the desktop. Although I have restore the system to its factory setting, the problem still exist. I have also use recovery disk but it did not solve the problem.

Then, I change the core setting from Dynamic into Always Low and luckily my laptop can run now. I can use it to play some games for hours without problem and I am still using Vista home premium. However, the laptop is still odd. It will not start when its cord is plugged in (it will only start on battery power)and after the laptop is on, i can plug in the cord to recharge the battery. But, second problem will appear when the battery is full, I should set the laptop into Sleep mode before I unplugged the cord. This is because if I unplugged it directly without setting the laptop into sleep mode, the laptop will go off suddenly. I have tested this laptop with a new battery but the problem is not solved.
I have also tried to restore the core setting ( from Always Low to Dynamic). Again, the laptop return to the first condition, always restart automatically and cannot load the desktop.

Could you please help me on this problem? Is there any negative effects to the laptop when the cord is always set on Always low mode rather than Dynamic?